ABSTRACT
The Louvre evolved from the castle fortress of Philippe-Auguste in 1190 to a royal residence occupied by French monarchs until Louis XIV moved to Versailles in 1678, and finally in 1793, into the national museum of France. Under both royal and republican governments, the museum has enriched its collections and enhanced its building program culminating in the creation of the Grand Louvre, begun under François Mitterand in the 1980s and finished under Jacques Chirac in 1996. The Louvre is considered the finest example of a universal survey museum in the world and is visited by millions of tourists and scholars annually.
